National guideline to regulate dietetic practice
National guidelines to regulate dietetic practice and endorse healthy eating for some diet-related diseases in Ghana are being developed.
The formulation of the guidelines is being spearheaded by the Ghana Dietetic Association (GDA) and the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The guidelines will also help root out quack dieticians who are misleading the public on diet.
The Chief Dietician of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Dr Gladys Peprah Boateng, made this known at the first dietetic biennial congress in Accra on the theme: “The dietician; leading the way in evidence-based nutritional practice for quality health care in Ghana”.
Guidelines
The influx of false dieticians who are misleading the public also informed the formulation of the guidelines to regulate and set standards on the activities of the profession, Dr Boateng said.
“The national guidelines will include precise and concise information serving primarily as a first handbook for professionals working in Ghana, including dieticians, interns, students and all health workers interested in nutrition-related issues,” she explained.
“Some diet-related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases do not rely on only medical treatment but also evidence-based nutrition intervention strategies to manage the negative effects,” she pointed out.
She said currently, the draft on the strategy, which was framed by a committee, was undergoing fine tuning by a consultant, after which it would be sent back to a committee set on the strategy for final editing and acceptance.
Dr Boateng, therefore, urged practitioners to rely on current evidence-based research in their line of duty because the research analysis was dynamic.
Deficit in dietitians
Although using foreign-based evidence was not bad in practising dietetics, she said, it was time Ghanaian dieticians conducted research whose result was relevant to the country.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, said there were 70 registered dieticians across the country, out of which two were employed by the ministry.
Meanwhile, he said, the country needed about 500 dieticians and that every district, municipal and metropolitan assembly needed at least a dietician to complement the work of other health professionals.
He said the deficit was of great concern to the government because the situation had created a vacuum for self-styled dieticians to exploit.
The President of the GDA, Mr Daniel Mensah, said the goals of the association were to represent and develop the dietetic profession to contribute towards achieving optimal health for Ghanaians.
